Rabu, 08 November 2017

The
billionaire believes that the US government needs to do more to maintain its
lead in artificial intelligence.China released an AI strategy in July,
which revealed that it plans to become a world leader in the field by 2030.

Eric Schmidt, the executive chairman of Google
parent company Alphabet, has warned that China is poised to overtake the US in
the field of artificial intelligence (AI) if the US government doesn’t act
soon.

Speaking at the Artificial Intelligence and
Global Security Summit on Wednesday, the former Google CEO said: “Trust me,
these Chinese people are good.”

He added: “They are going to use this
technology for both commercial as well as military objectives with all sorts of
implications.”

China published its AI strategy in July and said that it wanted to be the world leader in AI by
2030.

Reuters Institute research, which looked at seven
Asia-Pacific markets, confirms that Hong Kong, Singapore, South Korea, Taiwan,
and Malaysia are all mobile-first markets.

In three of these markets mobile-use has
reached or is approaching 60%. This widespread use of smartphones has been
facilitated by higher penetration rates of smartphone making and mobile
broadband in the region.

These figures are much higher than in some
developed markets in North America and Western Europe, but indicate future rises
in mobile use.

Publishers are already adapting to this new
revenue stream with investment and experimentation in mobile alerts and notifications to reach news
audiences.

The Equifax breach stole names, addresses, birth dates, and
credit card numbers for over 200,000 consumers. One might immediately assume
that cyber criminals made the attack in order to sell the information to
identity thieves who will run up fraudulent charges, file fake tax returns,
defraud mortgages and loans, purchase goods with stolen credit cards or steal a
subscription to HBO in time for next season’s Game of Thrones.

But where
most see thieves, I see spies.

The cyber intrusion also stole documents used in disputes for
approximately 182,000 people. This includes personal identifiable information
that sophisticated attackers could use to gain entry into medical records, bank
accounts, employer email accounts and networks — virtually anywhere that a
person has an online presence. Most consumers are still slow to adopt secondary
protection schemes like two-factor authentication and continue to use challenge
questions that relate directly to their personal lives. If a spy agency in
China, North Korea or Russia (the three most likely culprits in the Equifax
breach) has this information, they could use it to infiltrate other accounts of
targeted individuals, particularly those persons of interest in government
agencies.

Apart
from the unprecedented focus on technology and innovation development, the
latest Policy Address announced last month also demonstrates Chief Executives
Carrie Lam’s commitment to transform the government’s technology practice.
Policies that include a new procurement arrangement and CE-led Steering
Committee on Innovation and Technology are considered by industry veterans and
former civil servants as a digital transformation within the Hong Kong SAR
Government.

“The
overall direction is positive and encouraging, but it also raises a lot of
question marks, particularly around the implementation,” Raymond Wong, the
former assistant director (information systems) of the Hong Kong Immigration
Department said.

“With
Carrie’s personal commitment in technology development and close collaboration
between her executive council members, I am confident with the upcoming
development in technology,” said Fanny Law, chairman of the board of directors
at the Hong Kong Science and Technology Park (HKSTP). “Of course, the results
remain to be revealed upon the deployment of these policies.”